Cutting Edge Marketing Tips

Water is the source of life, yet so few of us understand how to navigate its spiritual and inspirational powers.

In 2001, I spent the summer in Israel launching a special project for the protection of the water-starved Sea of Galilee. Fortunately, I found a short-term apartment with a panoramic, awe-inspiring view of the Sea.

Seascape apartments in the Holy Land are highly coveted and thus in precious supply.

Friends commented that my good fortune was beyond belief. But I felt that the sea was drawing me near, indeed that I could rely upon these mystical waters to provide direction.

The miracle was mine for the asking.

My laptop fit comfortably in an alcove with windows shuttered against the hot, penetrating Middle Eastern sun.

Yet, I found myself drawn instead to the expansive living room water vista, where my heart could endlessly inhale the wondrous, shimmering greeting of diamond tipped waves.

Graceful sailboats ballet sailed by from time to time. Motorboats would occasionally capture my attention. I remained vigilant for water visitors even in the black of night.

The sea and I graciously welcomed all guests.

For we were intertwined in this special time and place, cherished partners–beholder, beheld and beloved–embracing and celebrating God’s powerful blessings in our perfect, peaceful setting.

Slowly, inescapably, I discovered that I was…Praying on Water!

It was a joyous experience that I wanted to share.

I also discovered through my research that there are over 200 water references in the Old Testament and over 100 in the New Testament.

Miracles and milestones linked to water — the parting of the Red Sea, the passage of the Israelites across the turbulent River Jordan into the Promised Land, baptism and rebirth, Jesus’ miraculous walk on the waters of the Sea of Galilee — shaped our Judeo-Christian heritage.

As the Biblical drama opens on creation, we learn that the entire world is divided into upper and lower waters. Waters above signify trust in God, while waters below signify trust in one another.

I’ve written numerous works and held many conferences over the years on the politics of water sharing–especially in the Middle East Region.

Yet, I finally understood that it is much more important–and yes, even urgent–to help people undertand and appreciate the Power of Water Prayers to forge a closer connection to God…the True Source!

How to Pray On Water reveals the most profound prayer messages ever written: Water Scriptures!!

YOU WILL NEVER AGAIN THINK OF THE BIBLE OR WATER in quite the same way. You can learn more about How to Pray on Water at http://www.prayonwater.com.

Dr. Joyce Starr–a noted international expert on water issues–authored Covenant Over Middle Eastern Waters (Henry Holt), Faxes To God (HarperSanFrancisco), Kissing Through Glass (Contemporary Books), and How Children Pray to God at the Western Wall of Jerusalem (http://www.starrcraft.com) and many other works. You can find her recently published Ebook, How to Pray on Water, at http://www.prayonwater.com.

You can also visit Dr. Starr’s Life Coaching website at:
http://www.virtualexpretizer.com.

Dr. Starr can be reached at expert-info@usa.net.

© Joyce Starr - All Rights Reserved

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One of the most important things we can do for our businesses, schools, and organizations is to have vision. Vision being a clear picture of a desired end result that you are aiming for.

However, sometimes, no matter how big our vision was originally, we find ourselves focusing in on the daily events that require our attention but have nothing or little to do with our ultimate vision.

Occasionally, we think to ourselves, “Hey, I’m not really getting any closer to my vision. I’m spinning my wheels here.” This is when it is time to re-develop your vision!

Here are some helpful hints in doing just that.

Re-evaluate your original vision. Maybe what you used to think wasn’t realistic according to your strengths, your abilities, or your circumstances. Maybe it is time to change or modify the vision to make it attainable.

Assess your strengths. To achieve your vision, you and your staff will have to operate out of your strengths. If you are having a hard time moving toward your current vision, perhaps it is because the vision requires extended application of strengths that you and/or your organization don’t have. Either you need to hire into those strengths, develop those strengths, or re-develop the vision.

Ask yourself where your passions lie. If we are to attain great things, they must be aligned with those things that burn deep within us. Do you still have a passion for your vision? Does your staff have a passion for your vision? If not, you need to develop the passion, or find the vision that you can pour your passion into. Never underestimate the power of passion and excitement in moving you toward (or keeping you from) your vision.

Ask yourself what it is that you value. What is important to you? How will fulfilling my current vision, fulfill my desire to do something important and worthwhile for myself, my family, my employees, and my community?

Break the vision down into easy to achieve steps. This helps us see that the vision is attainable. It lets us know the end result, but focus intently into achieving the next goal. This, step-by-step, moves us toward the vision.

About The Author:

Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of
Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn
their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and
achieve their dreams.

To see Chris “live” at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on
the subject of Secrets of Influence go to
http://Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.

“If you don’t like what’s happening in your life, change your mind.”

This brief quotation from the Dalai Lama reminds me that my experience of life changes as I do. As I change, I change the way I influence - and am influenced by - my surroundings.

How are you inventing your life today? How does the way you think affect your actions? And how might you become more aware of the process?

A centering breath is a place to start.

When you’re stressed, in conflict, or otherwise under pressure, do you hold your breath? Most people do. When you stop the natural flow of air, you become tense and unbalanced, physically and emotionally. Your body, mind and spirit are disconnected.

One of the easiest ways to regain your balance is to start breathing again. Open your throat, relax your body and allow inspiration to take place. Inspiration-a great word, isn’t it? Your breath is your life energy that connects to inner wisdom, resources and strength.

A good way to practice centering is to notice how often you hold your breath. The awareness will trigger you to start breathing again. The more you notice, the less you’ll hold your breath, and the more relaxed and centered you’ll be. Try it. And let me know what happens!

©2005 Judy Ringer, Power & Presence Training

About the Author: Judy Ringer is the author of Unlikely Teachers: Finding the Hidden Gifts in Daily Conflict, containing stories and practices on conflict, communication and living a more purposeful life. Judy is a black belt in aikido and nationally known presenter, specializing in unique workshops on creating a more positive life and work environment. She is the founder of Power & Presence Training, and chief instructor of Portsmouth Aikido, Portsmouth, NH, USA. To sign up for more free tips and articles like these, visit www.JudyRinger.com

A key fault I have, and I can only talk about one fault at a time, is the tendency to get busy. I often find myself chasing my own tail. What I will do with it when I catch it is beyond my understanding. However, this notwithstanding, I fall into the trap time after time of getting too busy for my own good.

The faster I try to go; the less I seem to accomplish.

This past week proved no exception; in fact, everything came to a head on Monday. I had my To-Do-List all prioritized and neatly written on several 3 by 5 cards stuffed in my shirt pocket. Earlier I went through them item by item to make sure I could maximize the day. After all, “The early bird catches the worm.”

Being the turkey I am, I have no idea what I’m going to do with the worm when I catch it, particularly if it’s early in the morning when all I want is a good cup of coffee. Yet, I can often be found imitating that “early bird” scurrying around with my list of important things to do.

Getting back to my Monday catastrophe, and I can’t think of another word that adequately describes last Monday. Sure, I’ve had catastrophes before. But this one was the wicked stepmother of all catastrophes.

After organizing my 3 by 5 cards, I made some mental notes as to how long each job would take. Returning those cards to my shirt pocket, I smiled the smile of one who has conquered his day. I felt good about myself and was anxious to get started on my day.

My day started out rather well. In fact, I discovered by mid-morning I was ahead of schedule. I chuckled to myself and thought, “next time I’ll have a longer To-Do-List.”

Suddenly, everything came to a screech owl halt.

I needed to pick up something at my office, which would only take a moment. I pulled up to my office door, jumped out of the car and unlocked the office door.

The office door can only be locked from the outside, with a key. The inside has a handicap bar according to the building code. I thought I would save time by unlocking the door and then locking it while I went inside to retrieve the item I needed. This would mean when I came to leave I could walk out, shut the door behind me and it would lock automatically.

This would save me exactly .00003 seconds of time. As time is precious, I thought it worth the effort.

The plan was going fine. Walking past my desk, I laid my keys on top of my desk. About this time I remembered something I needed from the car and dashed out to retrieve it. Just as I got to my car, I heard the door slam shut and one thought meandered through my stunned mind; “the keys.”

The keys were exactly where I had left them on my desk in my office.

My first thought was to panic. So, for about seven minutes I luxuriated in sheer panic.

My second thought was, “how am I going to get inside the building?”

I must confess my second thought drowned out my first. Some may have the luxury of indulging in panic, but I was on a schedule. My To-Do-List was begging to be done that day.

I circled the building three times and then laid down in sheer bewilderment. Not one door was unlocked. Not one window was accessible from the outside. All the effort put into making our building burglarproof was my nightmare in shinning alarm.

I thought of breaking a window but what if someone saw me? Also, I’d have to pay for the damages.

In my mind, I went over everybody who had a key to our church. Everyone I could think of was out of town or working. Even my wife was in Daytona Beach.

Then I had a brilliant thought. I must confess I don’t have many but when I do, it brightens up my day. “The builder of the church might have a key.” For some odd reason I had my cell phone with me, so I called the builder.

Unfortunately for me, he did not have a spare key to our building. My heart sank into the sole of my right foot because I had no options left.

Then the builder said, “I’ll send one of my carpenters over to take a door off and let you in.” I did not know that could be done, but I was glad for any help I could get at this point.

Within a few moments, the carpenter showed up. As he got out of his truck, I could see a sly smile smeared all over his puss. I took it like a man; a man locked out of his own office.

He spent about an hour taking the door off its hinges. Just as he finished my cell phone rang. A lady from the church with a spare church key was five minutes away.

I never told the carpenter about the last minute key because he worked so hard taking the door off and then putting it back on again.

Only one key in life really matters and that is Jesus, who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6 KJV.)

He is the only key that opens the door to heaven and I can never lose him.

Reverend Snyder is currently ministering at the “Family of God
Fellowship” in Ocala, Florida. More of his articles are available
for reprint at his website: http://www.godspenman.com/
Rev. Snyder is available as a guest speaker. He writes a weekly
column and is the author of “You Can Always Tell a Pastor; But Not Very Much ” available at: http://www.jamessnyderministries.com/

The 5 important life lessons I learned from my dog

Our son has been on a long, arduous campaign for our family to adopt a dog. I have to admit we are weakening.

I have always loved dogs and I can well remember my own beloved childhood friends as well as that desperate desire for my very own canine companion. Plus he is an active child who loves the outdoors and he is an only child with no children his age living nearby so a dog could be a wonderful playmate and friend.

But I also feel in my heart it is simply too soon for me to open my heart to another dog. It has only been a year since I lost my beloved labrador Shamus and I still miss her terribly. Friends have told me to get another dog, but I find that rather hard-hearted. If my husband died people wouldn’t send me right out to pick a new one and if my son died people wouldn’t simply suggest I get pregnant again. Yes I will eventually adopt another dog to join our family, just as many people do remarry or have other children, but I am not done grieving for the loss of Shamus. You see she was a special dog and she was a very large part of my life.

Shamus joined our family during the first year of our marriage, more than a decade before our son made an appearance, and moved from New York to Kentucky with us.

She was the sweetest, most loving dog imaginable but then she was a lab and we know that is part of their nature. When she was younger my husband would take her hunting and she loved to hunt so much despite being lazy. However, I always swore that made her a better retriever because she didn’t want to waste a step! She was such an agreeable dog that my husband said she was the best dog he’d ever had; she was so eager-to-please (another lab trait) that she was a joy to train.

During the last years of her life she steadily grew weaker and struggled with many health issues but she was still so loving and uncomplaining. It was very difficult for us as we watched her decline and I dreaded being forced to make a decision, but in the end she made that decision on her own. Despite the many months of knowing her death was coming it was still so very hard to say good-bye. It was even more difficult to know that the world contains one less gentle heart and one less being that loves me.

But the lessons she taught me live on:

The 5 important life lessons I learned from my dog…

You can learn a lot from being a pet owner and the lessons begin from the first day your furry family member steps into your life and continue after you say your final farewell. In many ways, my dog was a far better person than I can ever hope to become.

1. Stay in touch with your loved ones

And I mean really in touch! Every pet owner knows what I mean. We humans don’t touch each other enough. Sure, we cuddle our babies, and fondle our new lovers, but in every relationship there comes a point when kisses are perfunctory farewells and hugs are doled out sparingly.

Dogs know that a simple touch from someone you love can make any situation better and sometimes make all the difference in the world. They appreciate the wonder and magic of a kiss (or lick) just because they love you and know that sometimes just sitting close enough to touch frequently keeps the cold, dark nights at bay.

2. Never overlook the chance for a nap

While most of us can’t work into our schedules the 20-hours of sleep time that dogs enjoy, we could all benefit from taking advantage of some down time to relax and rejuvenate. There are few of us who are getting enough rest and many are subsisting on far less sleep than is really adequate. This is no way to live let alone thrive. Your dog knows how to relax, just roll on your back and let your tongue loll out. You’d be surprised how wonderful it feels!

Dogs know that sleep should be high on your priority list-surely higher than laundry and cleaning although not higher than any food-related activity. Give yourself some down time and you’ll feel the better for it.

3. Jealousy is a waste of time

It would have been understandable if our dog took an instant dislike to our newborn. After all, for 11 years she had been the “baby” of the family. Even more than that, during the nine months of my pregnancy I’d been very sick and she’d been my constant companion on couch and bed. Now suddenly that was over and there was precious little time for grooming, walks, or cuddling. All our attention was focused on someone else. Jealous? Not our Shamus. She instantly bonded with the little screamer even though we didn’t let her get too close while we sussed the situation out.

She was better than any baby monitor available as she would come find us at the first sign of stirring and distress. She was the best nursemaid as she carefully investigated any visitors approaching the baby and always slept by his bed to guard against intruders and be vigilante for his every need. Then as the baby grew and became more mobile she was the epitome of patience with all his hair-gripping, lip-tugging, ear-pulling explorations.

She was his his guardian angel, playmate, and furry walker and she loved every minute of it.

4. The best toys are found not bought

Expensive squeaky toy? Shredded in minutes. Knobby ball? Lost in the bushes. Rubber bone? Shoved under couch. Frisbee found by the side of the road? Played with every day and stowed carefully on bed when not in use. A person’s hand? Endless play opportunities.

Dogs and young children teach us an important lesson about gifts. Your time and attention are the greatest gift of all and with a little imagination and energy you don’t need any toys at all, let alone expensive, electronic gadgets.

5. You are never too old to play

Arthritis and muscular atrophy sometimes make it a challenge for Shamus to get around, but she still loves to wrestle and will even romp for a little while. Although she can’t be as active and play fetch for hours as she once did, she still wants to be in the center of the action and participate as much as she can.

We humans forget that the need for play and fellowship does not disappear when we leave childhood. There is no such thing as being too old to play. Perhaps we need to revise our choice of game and venue, but no matter what our age, there should be no limit to our ability to join in the fun!

What lessons has your dog taught you? What role does your dog play in your home?

Deanna Mascle is an inspirational freelance writer. You can find more inspiration at Inspiration by Dawggone and her inspirational ezines Words of Inspiration Online and Daily Quote Online.

Are you observing the market attempting to pin point the best foreign currency exchange rates? The online world is a great place to have a look at what is on offer & acquire the optimum bargain. Still, it’s certainly not exclusively about scanning the market place the lowest exchange rate - sneaky fees, commission and transfer costs can all transform a winning exchange rate abruptly wretched value.

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For any of you that are interested ~ this may very well be my “Fairwell” e-mail! It’s my blog which is my, well, goodby letter ~ of sorts ~ to my sister, Rita If I’ve never told any of you before, I really do love you. I’m exhausted now. This MS is a killer! Need to take a nap now… Maybe, I’ll feel better when I wake up? ~Hugs~ Your buddy, Russ:))
My Blog URL

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Great Day To Blog

Current mood: cheerful
Category: Friends

Well, Russ, it’s April fools day.

Yeah, buddy, it sure is. I don’t feel much like doing an April fools after replying to that last e-mail to my Sis’.

You know, I do understand.

Yeah, buddy, because you’re me too…

That’s right, Russ. Maybe, if we post our reply to our sister’s e-mail you will feel better?

It’s worth a try. Hey, I’m beginning to feel better already…

On 4/1/06, rita smith wrote:

DEAR BROTHER RUSS, Hey Sis’ ..>..>

THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY LETTER LAST NIGHT. I KNOW
YOU MUST HAVE BEEN REALLY TIRED AT THAT TIME OF THE

NIGHT. Night? Day? Who knows the difference?

HONEY, I THINK ABOUT YOU AND I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE
ALWAYS BEEN ONE THAT NEVER COMPLAINS AND YOU DO YOUR
BEST TO LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE…..EVEN IF

YOU DON’T FEEL GOOD YOU HAVE ALWAYS HAD A SMILE. Not now, Sis,

I’ve got ~ as Mom used to call it ~ a goofy grin

RUSS, I JUST DON’T KNOW HOW YOU DO IT……..YOU MUST
BE IN UNSPEAKABLE PAIN AT TIMES FOR THEM TO PUT YOU ON
MORPHINE. I AM NOT AS SMART AS I USE TO BE, BUT EVEN
I KNOW MORPHINE IS A SERIOUS DRUG AND THEY DON’T JUST

..>..>
HAND IT OUT BECAUSE YOU TELLL THEM YOU HURT. Maybe, the gal

from Hospice ~that went with me ~ to put in a good word had something to do with it?

She’s the same pretty lady that owns the piercings place and does tattoos. You remember, I told you guys a little about her in a previous e-mail, “LaFreeka” ! I guess, I forgot to tell you that she works for Hospice and that I met her when she came over to my apartment ~ to take care of me?

WHEN I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL WITH MY HIP REPLACEMENT,
THEY HAD ME ON A MORPHINE DRIP. I COULD PUSH THE
BUTTON AND EVERY 15 MIN.GET A FEW DROPS OF PAIN
KILLER.
I ALSO REMEMBER I PUSHED THE BUTTON A LOT BECAUSE I
WAS STILL HURTING. I SO MUCH HOPE THAT “IT” WILL BE
THE ANSWER. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TAKING IT AND WHAT

..>..>
SIZE DO YOU TAKE?? Just took my third one. If my memerory serves me right,

Three days?? They only gave me a five day supply dispite the fact that LaFreeka wanted me to HAVE more…

GOOD LORD, THAT ALSO MEANS YOU CAN NOT DRIVE A CAR.
YOU WILL BE LUCKY TO DRIVE YOUR SCOOTER. RUSS, PLEASE
TELL US WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH YOU AND WHAT KIND OF CONDITION YOU ARE IN. The Doctor who wrote my perscription said that, while on it, I should not drive, or use my handicapped scooter, or operate the Internet!

RUSS, WE LOVE YOU AND WE WANT TO HELP. LIFE GETS
CRAZY SOMETIMES AND WITH ALL OF THE RAIN IN YOUR AREA
LIFE DOES GET DARK IN THE DAYTIME TOO. PLEASE DON’T
JUST SAY,”I AM ALRIGHT”, WHAT DID THE DR. TELL YOU???

..>..>
HONEY, WE WANT TO KNOW BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU. Thank you, Sis’. I love you two too to death do us part About the dark in the daytime part, I’m still trying to figure out how to tell night from day. The DR. said that I shouldn’t need the scooter because now I would be flying. She also said to have a nice trip!

BOB TOO, IS AS WORRIED AS I AM. DARN THESE COMPUTERS
THAT WORK ONLY PART-TIME. WE LIKE TO SEE YOU BUT WE

WANT TO TALK TO YOU TOO. AND WE WANT YOU TO HEAR US.. Maybe, next time you will? Maybe next life around, I will be able to hear?

WE HAVE A REAL GREAT BROTHER, I AM SURE YOU KNOW.
TONITE HE IS OVER AT CHRISTINE’S PLACE….SHE WASN’T
FEELING GOOD AND HAS A BAD COLD. HE INSISTS HE IS
TAKING ENOUGH ECHINACEA-GOLDENSEAL TO KEEP THE BUG
AWAY. I SURE HOPE SO. I AM SURE GLAD THAT I LIKE HER.

I KNOW HE DOES. SHE IS SPECIAL. Is our brother afraid that she will give him “THE BUG?” He never told me that she had bugs ~ let alone “THE BUG!”
..>..>

YOU SAID THAT CASSIE’S SCHOOL MEETING YOU WENT TO
TURNED OUT WELL. THAT IS GOOD NEWS. SHE IS A VERY

SPECIAL GIRL. BE SURE AND GIVE HER OUR LOVE…. I will, Sis’, as long as our brother doesn’t try to give her “THE BUG” too.

THIS IS A QUIET WEEKEND FOR ME. NOT TOO MUCH
HAPPENING. OH WELL, THAT’S OK. SOMETIMES I JUST LIKE
TO PULL THE WALLS IN AROUND ME AND NOT DO MUCH OF
ANYTHING. TAZZ IS ALWAYS CLOSE BY AND I LIKE TO LAUGH

AT HIM. HE CAN BE FUNNY. You shouldn’t talk about your dark haired boyfriend, Tazz, that way Sorry to chastize, Sis’, but I can’t quite remember where Tazz is from??

WELL RUSS, IT IS TIME TO LET GET ON WITH SOME MORE
E-MAILS. PLEASE, THINK OF WHAT I WROTE AND GET BACK

TO US. WE REALLY DO CARE ABOUT YOU.. From this, you can see that I really care about you two too to send an April fools ~ like this:) It might just make a good ezine article after I send it on as an april fools to some other friends too?
..>..>

TAKE CARE AND STAY WARM

MAY GOD BLESS US ALL AND YOU TWICE.

LOTS OF LOVE, YOUR SIS RITA

~Hugs~ Your brother Russ:))

Russ Miles is author of the novel, For Sale By Owners:FSBO.
A “Seasoned Real Estate NAR® Broker,” disabled by Multiple Sclerosis, Russ writes books & articles on varied subjects.
FOR SALE BY OWNERS:FSBO ISBN 0-595-28703-4,in trade paperback,
is available by phone or Internet:1-800-Authors to order direct!
Adobe e-book & hard cover editions also available at Amazon.com at Barnes and Noble and other fine booksellers.

Comments: MilesRuss@Gmail.com.
Please visit Russ Miles’s website www.MilesBooks.com for other informative features and information of interest.

There are many factors that affect your car insurance premium. Each is a statistically based risk for a specific population. The higher the risk associated with a person, the more he or she is likely to pay for coverage. We have elaborated on some of the risk factors below, but there are numerous others, including driver’s gender, miles driven per year, purpose for using the vehicle (commuting to work, using for work, leisure only), etc.

Factors you cannot easily change that affect your car insurance rates:

* Your Age

Statistically, drivers under the age of 25 are at greater risk of being in an accident than those over age 25. Drivers between the ages of 50 and 65 generally have the safest records.

* Your Gender

Women are statistically safer drivers (sorry guys).

* Your Marital Status

A married person will pay less than a single person with an identical driving record.

Factors you CAN change that affect your car insurance rates

* Your Location

Where you live and work makes a difference. Folks living in certain areas with little or no traffic are likely to spend less on insurance than those living in congested cities or suburbs because areas with a lot of traffic tend to see more accidents. Some neighborhoods also have a higher rate of vehicle thefts, which can result in a higher premium.

* Your Driving Violations

Having an accident or moving violations on your record (speeding tickets, DWI, reckless driving, etc.) put you at a higher risk for accidents and will likely mean a higher premium. Some insurance companies will penalize you for your record for as many as five years from when the incident occurred. However, keep in mind, as your record improves, your premium will get lower.

* Your Vehicle Type

A cheap car will cost less to insure than that status symbol SUV sitting on 24″ rims.

* Your Accident Claims

A driving record that is clean and free of accidents will hold fare better for you than lots of tickets and/or accidents.

* Your Credit History

Many insurance companies view having a poor, or even no credit history as suggestive of higher risk and thus, charge you a higher premium.

* Your Occupation

Insurers have statistically found a correlation between your occupation and risk of filing claims. For instance, a newspaper delivery person is most likely a higher risk than the personal banker sitting at their desk all day.

Other factors that help determine car insurance premiums:

* Driving distance to work

* Miles driven annually

* Years of driving experience

* Rather or not you have taken safe driving courses

* Business use of the vehicle

* Whether or not you currently have car insurance

* Theft protection devices (often results in discounts)

* Multiple cars and drivers (another opportunity for discounts)

What can I do right now to make sure I have the car insurance lowest premium?

Shop around and compare car insurance quotes from different insurers. They base their premiums on their claims experiences, which naturally differ. One company may see your area as a higher risk than others may. Another may charge more because of your occupation. Shopping online makes it easier because you can quickly see multiple companies and their rates for your particular situation.

Matt McWilliams is one of the co-founders of HometownQuotes.Com, an online insurance quotes web site. He is originally from Pinebluff, NC and attended Middle Tennessee State University. He is considered an expert in the field of online insurance shopping and finding new ways to help consumers save money on their insurance. For more information visit http://www.hometownquotes.com

The number and different types of life insurance can cause much confusion to the new life insurance agent and in some cases to the life insurance buyer. You will get an overview of most of them here and how each one can be applied to your particular needs.

• Decreasing Term Life Insurance Policy

  One policy that sets itself apart from all other types of life insurance policies is decreasing term life insurance. As the name implies the face amount of the policy gradually decreases over the years. The most common area where your need for life insurance decreases is when a policy is used to erase a mortgage debt when the homeowner dies. This policy perfectly fits that type of situation. The premium remains level for the duration.

  All other life insurance policies are level death benefit policies but some of them have unique twists that policy buyers may find useful.

• Yearly Renewable Term Policy

  This type of policy has a level death benefit as mentioned before, however, the premium increases every year if you choose to keep the policy. Here you have a one year term policy with the option of renewing it every year. Because you are older you pay the premium for the older age. This is life insurance in it’s purest form. You would use this to pay off outstanding debt in the event of your death.

• 5 Year And 10 Year Term Policies

  These policies maintain a level death benefit for 5 or 10 years…depending on which policy you choose. These policies are also used to take care of fairly short term life insurance needs. You will find these level premiums to be quite inexpensive.

• 15 Year, 20 Year, 25 Year And 30 Year Term Policies

  A greater number of these types of life insurance policies are sold than any other. These are level premium term policies designed to take care of long term life insurance needs. Your choice would depend on how many years you need to be covered…

  Let us assume you are using this policy for family protection. You have a child 3 or 4 years old. You need to be assured that the child and surviving parent can attain all desired goals in the event of the death of the insured. Because you want to provide sufficient cash or income at least until the child graduates college a 20 or a 25 year term policy would fit the bill. Had the child been older you could use the 15 year term policy.

• Whole Life, Universal Life, Variable Universal Life And Variable Life Policies

  The premiums for these types of life insurance policies are much higher than those of the term policies…but they can fulfill an important need. If you have a desire to accumulate some cash through your life insurance policy these are the policies designed for that. You can use the whole life policy and the universal life policies as vehicles through which you can save money. The returns are not very high though…

  You have a better chance getting a high return on your money if you invested in a variable universal life insurance policy or a variable life policy. These policies are sold through prospectus and the agent need an NASD licence before he can discus them with you.

Individual health insurance coverage can be obtained with some careful researching of the many different companies that offer health insurance plans and policies. Generally speaking the cost of an individual health insurance plan will vary from one insurance provider to another. Typically these plans are for individuals that are either self-employed or in some cases unemployed and seeking a job. As you can expect coverage for an individual is more expensive when compared to an insurance plan that covers groups of consumers that you may find working for a small business. Also because there are more folks paying insurance premiums into a group plan the health insurance benefits and coverage may be more extensive then for an individual seeking health insurance on their own.

As mentioned previously, an individual health insurance plan can be located by searching online for health insurance companies or by using a health insurance broker in your state of residence. However, you should be prepared to put in a small amount of work because many state insurance companies may not offer individual health insurance plans or if they do offer health coverage, the details of the plan may leave much to be desired. In fact the cost of the plan may be rather high to include the deductible and there may be a perceived lack of benefits or coverage thus resulting in a substantial amount of out-of-pocket costs. Even worse, if an individual is determined to have a pre-existing condition during the required physical or medical screening then there is a strong possibility that they will be labeled as a high-risk applicant which could result in an even higher insurance premium or even a denial of coverage altogether.

Perhaps the easiest way to qualify for better health insurance rates and benefits is to instead forget about signing up for an individual health insurance plan and instead focus on finding a group health insurance plan that they can become a part of with other self employed people or by finding a job that offers such a plan as part of its benefits package. There’s no doubt that these type of plans offer more in terms of better coverage for a cheaper rate when compared to an individual health insurance plan.

Still trying to decide between group health insurance and an individual health insurance plan is a decision that can only be made by someone facing that situation. It really boils down to comparing the two health insurance coverage plans in order to see what the differences, similarities, advantages and disadvantages are between the two. Only then can a consumer make the right choice and receive the health insurance coverage they need and deserve.